I am delighted to introduce myself as the new Managing Director of Piety Group. It is an honour to join the dedicated and professional team that have contributed to Piety Group’s ongoing growth and success. Over the course of my professional career I have worked for some major property businesses including Lendlease and Mirvac (LinkedIn profile) and I am looking forward to growing the business by introducing high quality Joint Venture and funding partners. As the business continues to develop, Piety Group has, in nine short years, established its flair for innovation, ongoing betterment and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) credentials that underpin its extraordinary growth. In brief: Piety Group is not a company to rest on its laurels, but one that seeks forward momentum in its protocols and practices, and its resulting performance.
In the last year, the company has transformed its internal performance analysis with the development of a bespoke eight-part business KPI tool/strategic action model. Designed to keep all business divisions and personnel accountable to both deadline-aligned and fluid objectives in their respective areas, the platform has proved a resounding success across all operations of the business.
The company’s strategic actions were launched last year with an ambitious 240 actions – all designed to improve the way Piety Group does what it does, from site acquisition and development applications through to architecture, construction and marketing, and everything in between. A staggering 97% of these actions were completed or are in train to shortly be so. Piety Group has an engaged workforce who all share a common vision of how we are to continually improve and win new business, and the strategic objectives in tandem with our team’s dedication and experience to achieve this.
As part of the strategic objectives to improve the operational standards of the business, Piety Group has developed a new internal staff portal, “The Hub”. Enabling staff to have instant access to all Piety Group news, marketing templates, employee and human resources, partner links, staff manuals and much more, it has streamlined the communications platform within the company, providing information at one’s fingertips with the click of a button.
Our robust systems and processes mean the business is well positioned to partner with major investors and deliver high quality developments throughout Sydney. These improvements are being recognised externally, from customers giving 5-star ratings through to Piety Group receiving the recognition of our industry peers as a Silver Medallist for Architecture in the 2021 Sydney Design Awards.
I would like to highlight some recent strategic appointments for key personnel that we are proud to have made. Stephen Boulos and Lloyd Grigg have moved into Director positions. Peter Cavallaro joined us as Development Director to bring in new acquisitions and to manage the iconic Intercontinental Double Bay project (more on that below). Yousef El-Cheikh has moved from the Development team into an Executive position, and we have hired many senior managers to assist further with the rapid growth and expansion of the company.
Clients and partners with an astute eye will notice our stunning new branding. Sharper, cleaner and providing greater harmony in conjunction with our individual projects’ branding, our new look was conceived by the talented group at Rare Identity and offers a refreshed and contemporary aesthetic. Our thanks also go to Kokky Creations for their superb fit-out of our office.
We are expecting strong market conditions over the next two to three years off the back of low levels of supply, historically low interest rates, migration returning and relative affordability for apartments compared to houses. We are actively seeking new projects but remain disciplined in our strategy of focusing on established infill locations offering strong transport infrastructure and amenity.
We have several exciting projects in the pipeline. This year we will continue to work on our Crownview Wollongong project, a stunning dual tower mixed-use development of high quality build that will dominate the skyline of Wollongong for years to come.
Piety Group is also the builder for another major development, Beyond at Hurtsville. Developed by Fridcorp, the project will eventually comprise 556 apartments over four individual towers, a full-scale Woolworths supermarket and retail space. Beyond will set a new benchmark for high quality residential development in metropolitan Sydney. The first stage is due for completion in April.
The Halston in North Strathfield is scheduled to be launched in April 2022 and will comprise 145 high quality 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments in three separate buildings, ranging from 4 to 6 levels. The project is in a prime location, close to rail, retail and recreational amenities and schools.
Our most significant project to date will be the redevelopment of the iconic InterContinental Hotel, Double Bay. The site was acquired in November 2021 in a joint venture with Fridcorp. We look forward to revealing details of the project later this year.
We will also be moving forward with Stage 3 of our multi-development project, ONE The Waterfront in Wentworth Point. Stages 1 and 2 of the three stages are complete, comprising approximately 175 residences, with various sizes and configurations on offer.
I would like to thank our incredible team for their resilience and agility in 2021, which still proved challenging due to Covid-19. I am confident our strong collaborative approach will continue to build on our success, to make 2022 another exciting year at Piety.
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